wish fulfillment
Americannoun
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gratification of desires.
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Psychoanalysis. the drive to free oneself from tension caused by instinctual needs, as sex.
Etymology
Origin of wish fulfillment
First recorded in 1905–10
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Mr. Kimmel also hints at the wish fulfillment at the heart of the Jewish-penned superhero tales: As he observes, within their pages, “nerdy outsiders end up exhibiting enviable superpowers.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026
Phillips: I think it was just like a wish fulfillment of an 8-year-old.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 6, 2025
The male “feminist,” as a figure of wish fulfillment in the search for a better world, has circumvented the natural skepticism people might otherwise have about public figures.
From Slate • Jan. 17, 2025
Look, there's a lot of wish fulfillment in this film.
From Salon • Aug. 12, 2024
The dream had been almost pure wish fulfillment, a wish she'd both had and known was impossible since the day she'd met him.
From The Alembic Plot A Terran Empire novel by Wilson, Ann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
